Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Figure 1. Jan van Scoref, Baptism of Christ, ca. 1527-1530. Photograph by M. Faries (after
Dingjan), courtesy of Frans Hafsmuseum, Haarlem.
provided critical comparative evidence (4). The results help to define the art
historical attributions and suggest some changes to Harrison's chronology.
This material not only brought greater clarity regarding the typical painting
procedures used in Scorel's shop, but also signaled the steps Heemskerck took
in his evolution away from Scorel's shop.
During the Haarlem years, Scorel standardized his painting technique in response
to the needs of an active workshop (5). The most overt clue to the
standardization is revealed in the layout of underdrawings from this period.
The Baptism if Christ in the Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem, must have been
one of the most prestigious commissions the artist received 1527-1530 (Fig.
1). The layout of this painting is fully worked out, from the assured contours
and loosely marked shaded zones in the figures of the main scene to the light
and dark bands in the landscape and other background detail. Areas where a
known motif was to be placed were no longer just left as a blank space in
the underdrawing, but marked with indicative shapes referring to the motif.
The underdrawing was laid out as a more recognizable and emphatic guide.
The Baptism was also painted following what had evolved into Scorel's usual
practice. This practice comprised the following: (a) an application of lead
white as a continuous intermediate layer between the ground and paint, (b)
an underdrawing in black chalk on this layer, and (c) a preference fo r certain
paint-layer structures and color combinations. A white intermediate layer certainly
occurs in artistic groups other than that of Scorel's workshop. It has
been found in some early German panels, and sporadically in the Hans Memling
and Gerard David groups, for instance. Scorel, however, could not have
learned the use of such a layer from his master in Amsterdam. It begins to
show up in some of Scorel's early works produced during his journey to Italy,
but only appears consistently after his return north. It was the three-fold
fu nction of this layer that was peculiar to the efficacy of Scorel's painting
technique: it isolated the ground, added to the painting's luminosity, and provided
"tooth" for the underdrawing, a fu nction almost unique to the Scorel
group (6). In many infrared documents, the underdrawing can be seen to skip
or crumble on top of this ridged surface. One cross section from Baptism
shows this typical paint layer structure: a first layer consisting of lead white
at a maximum thickness of 12 fL, a second layer composed of clumps of black
136
Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice